Evidently enough, this had been a major bump in the road for me.  My brain injury had been the most detrimental factor of my academic life.  It took longer, with more work and drastically different methods to even attempt to achieve the same standards as my peers.   I now learn differently, being a totally different game plan.  Without the hard work and endurance that I found, I would have never graduated from high school or even college.

Getting back to life and finding normalcy in everyday activities was the struggle I had to overcome.  That is the struggle I was faced with initially after the accident, during my recovery and even to this day. The only way that I made it through all of my struggles was because of the help and support I got from three sources:
First, my loving family is what carried me through it all.  They made the initial decision to stand by me, waiting for me to wake up.  After I did eventually wake up, my parents started the long road to rehab, taking much therapy and effort. Next, alongside my family, were my friends.  I had a small group of friends that stuck with me through it all.  This remaining friendship was something I really needed when everything else in my life had nearly been destroyed.

The third source is what helped bring it all together.  The spirit and power of God undeniably is what made me survive. Despite the severity of the accident, I am still alive and functioning. To this day, God has not stopped healing me.  Nothing has remained stagnant, regarding the effects of my brain injury.  Through the grace of the Lord, I am still healing and becoming stronger.  I am left with hope for continual progress in this long road of my recovery.

What am I left with?  Emotionally and spiritually, what has changed?   After my accident, my faith still remained.  Actually, through my eyes; God was the reason why I still was alive.  A couple of years after the accident, I traveled with my rehab hospital to speak to elementary schools about safety.  Standing among other brain injuries and spinal cord injuries, each of us told our own personal stories; all resting in the importance of safety.  Next, I spoke at a chapel event at Gordon College, my current school that year.  This campus event had an entirely different focus.  When I told my story to my peers, I told it with a focus on God.  Describing my life, accident, recovery and will to keep going; I concluded with the statement that God is the reason I am still here today.  This chapel event was the biggest, most powerful presentation that I have been part of.

After this event, I had the desire to keep speaking and telling my story.  I spoke at Georgetown High School’s freshman orientation.  I then spoke at Saugus High school, at a day-long event in which I spoke to each passing class.  I spoke again at the next GHS orientation.  I held an event at my church, in which I spoke to people that are becoming Catholic.  Varying my audience, I spoke to the 5th grade class at the elementary school in Georgetown.  Each event was powerful in itself, spreading my story, hopefully changing lives.

Regarding my experience, I now hold the dream of continuing to tell my story.  I want every student to hear of my unfortunate happenings in my life not because I want them to feel bad for me, but because I hope to inspire others.  I want to show people that anyone can make it through their hardships, as long as the will is there.  Having the fight inside you, as a person, can bring you through any uneven ground in your life; in which you are faced with.  No matter the hills you may have to climb; your heart will bring you through it.  I hope by my example of my story I can inspire others.